Do You Miss Your Smile?

When you lose a tooth, you lose more than just a tooth. You lose confidence in your own smile. And you lose those simple pleasures that most people take for granted like the crunch of a delicious apple, for instance, or the joy of a natural smile.

Did you know that a smile is the biggest secret of dealing with people? It creates good, positive, first impressions, which are very important indeed to creating good social interrelationships that, in turn, lead to much success in life and in business.

Do we have scientific empirical data to support this claim? No less than the University of Oxford and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute has conducted a study on the effect of the smile.

The results? The study lent “support to the prediction that smiles can elicit cooperation amongst strangers in a one-short interaction.”

In short, a smile can win friends and influence people.

But how can you win friends and influence people if you feel self-conscious about your own smile? If you have dental concerns such as a missing tooth, wouldn’t you feel hesitant to smile so much? And in not smiling, you are missing out on the many wonderful things in life. Not only will you deprive yourself of the simple joy of smiling, you will also deprive others from enjoying the beauty of your smile.

Now, with prosthodontics, you have all the help you need. 

As a specialized area of dentistry, prosthodontics concentrates on the restoration and replacement of missing or heavily damaged teeth due to disease, injury or wear. It is one of the nine dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association (ADA).

What do Prosthodontists do?

Practitioners of prothodontics are called “prosthodontists” but before they become such, they have to undergo extensive training and experience in addition to completing their dentistry credits.

Prosthodontists have the distinction of having a special understanding of the dynamics of a smile, the preservation of a healthy mouth and the creation of tooth replacements. In a way, they can even called as the “architects” of a beautiful, natural-looking smile.

Thus, as “architects” of a dental treatment plan, prosthodontists often work with other dentists engaged in general dentistry practice, specialists as well as other health professionals in order to develop solutions to your dental and oral health issues.

Specifically, prosthodontists are responsible for restoring optimum function to your mouth and teeth as well as pleasing aesthetics to your smile. They achieve this with the use of prosthetics, such as bridges, veneers, crowns, full or partial dentures, inlays, and dental implants.

Prosthodontists may also address jaw joint problems, traumatic injuries to the mouth or teeth, sleep disorders associated with snoring, and even mouth reconstruction after oral cancer.

Some prosthodontists also sub-specialize. Maxillofacial (head/neck) prosthetics, for one, is an approved sub-specialty that requires prosthodontists to undergo even further training.

Prosthodontists who sub-specialize in this field can address defects of the head and neck region caused by birth defect, surgery, or trauma/injury. Their area of sub-specialty includes designing and making prosthetic eyes, ears, obturators, cranial implants and mouth devices for alternative means of function for amputees.

Should you see a Prosthodontist?

The question of whether or not you should see a prosthodontist is subjective. It really just depends on you. However, when it comes to the question of who needs a prosthodontist, the answer is: any person with complex, extensive or unusual dental/oral restorative prosthetic needs.

Although any licensed dentist can replace missing teeth with dental implants, prosthodontists are specialists in the area of teeth restoration and aesthetics.

Therefore, if your “missing-tooth” problem is only minor and does not really need a lot of complex dental acrobatics to fix, then a prosthodontist is an option that you will always have at your disposal.

However, if your dental concern is far more serious than that, then seeing a prosthodontist is a must. There is no one better equipped to fix complex dental problems than a prosthodontist who is highly trained in state of the art techniques and procedures for treating many diverse and complex dental conditions and restoring optimum function and aesthetics.

If you are not entirely sure, then consult your dentist about your problem first and see if he can suggest a prosthodontist for you.

How to choose a Prosthodontist

In addition the necessary qualifications of a general practitioner dentist, a prosthodontist also has several other qualifications that you should look for:

• Experience is very important in the field of prosthodontics. Look for a prosthodontist who has been practicing extensively in the field of teeth replacement, whether dental implants or dental cosmetics like veneers, crowns, etc.

• The more post-doctoral training a prosthodontist has had, the better care he or she likely provides. Be sure to review the education and training of the prosthodontist you are considering. You can get information from the practice’s website. Alternatively, you may also request information directly by phone.

• The following professional dental groups train or certify dentists in prosthodontics. Find out if the prosthodontist you are considering has received training or certification through any of these groups:

Ø      American Board of Oral Implantology / Implant Dentistry (ABOI / ID)

Ø      American Board of Prosthodontics (ABP)

Ø      American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID)

Ø      International Congress of Oral Implantologists (ICOI)

Ø      Misch International Implant Institute (MIII)

Ø      American College of Prosthodontists (ACP)

Ø      American Academy of Implant Prosthodontics (AAIP)

What are your Options?

As mentioned, prosthodontics covers a lot of areas in dentistry, specifically in teeth restoration and aesthetics. In this regard, it is more along the lines of dental cosmetics in that it covers the making and design of teeth replacements, such as crowns, veneers, bridges, inlays, and dental implants.

For the purpose of this article, we will deal with two of the most common techniques used in prosthodontics, starting with dental implants.

Dental Implants

The goal of every person who is thinking of getting teeth replacement is to get one that looks and feels much like how natural teeth should. Dental implants offer this, plus other benefits.

But what are dental implants? There seems to be a lot of information on the benefits of dental implants, yet hardly anything at all about the nature of the procedure itself. What are implants made of? What sort of procedure is needed? Is there surgery involved?

First thing’s first: dental implants consist of an artificial tooth root that is often made of metal. This artificial tooth root is implanted into the jawbone to anchor the restoration or replacement tooth in place.

In order to attach the implant into the jawbone, some surgery is indeed involved. Will it be painful? The prosthodontist will naturally use anesthesia to make the surgical process easier for you.

Afterwards, the area will need some time to completely heal before the replacement tooth is attached to the implant. If you are missing more than one tooth, dentures may also be attached to the implants to serve as replacement teeth.

In addition to replacing single or multiple missing teeth, the dental implants may also be used to hold down or offer support to removable partial or full dentures. In all cases, dental implants can offer you a rare chance to improve the quality of your smile and your life.

Inlays and Onlays

In the past, the solution to damaged teeth surfaces is unsightly fillings that contain metals like mercury. While many dentist groups such as the American Dental Association have cleared amalgam fillings that contain mercury as non-toxic, these fillings are still glaring against the natural whiteness of your teeth, affecting how your smile looks.

Now, with inlays and onlays, your concern about the unsightliness of amalgam fillings is solved.

When it comes to repairing damage to the tooth’s biting surface, inlays and onlays are the best options you have. Rather than subject your teeth to the trauma of unnecessary surgery (such as in dental implants) or suffer the metallic appearance of silver fillings, inlays and onlays gives you the option of fixing the problem while still keeping that look of natural teeth.

Inlays and onlays may be made from porcelain, gold, or composite or ceramic resin. Porcelain, however, has become the material of choice for most people because of its strength and potential to match the natural color of your tooth.

Similar to a filling, an inlay lies inside the cusp tips of the tooth. In order to fit the prepared cavity, the inlays are custom-made and then cemented into place.

An onlay, on the other hand, is a more extensive reconstruction that covers one or more cusps of a tooth. Thus, onlays are only needed when there is a substantial reconstruction of the damaged tooth required.

Compared to the placement of a crown, inlays and onlays are less invasive. Whereas in placing crowns, the entire tooth would have to be destroyed in order to make way for the replacement crown. In either inlays or onlays, the prosthodontist only creates a cavity in the tooth and then only in size that is absolutely necessary for the inlay or onlay.

Not many people know this, but having a good smile matters a lot. Every year, people spend billions of dollars on make up and cosmetics and hardly spend a quarter percentage of that on dental care. Your smile is every bit a pleasing addition to your personality as makeup and clothes and cosmetics.